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All 16.1 - Another Side of a Story
It was quiet on the ship, still docked as it was in Naiza Dawan mine. Most people had opted to stay in the town an hour or two away, rather than remain on the boat while it was on land. Lucca hadn't been sleeping on the ship, but he had had no real interest in staying in town either: why go from being cooped up indoors in one place to cooped up in another? Regardless, he and Cress had been busy with their painting project, so he hadn't gone too far from the mine since Cohen had begrudgingly supplied them with the paint they required. The elf had stepped out for a while, since they were waiting for the layer to dry; Carrot was somewhere, directing people in how to best repair the gashes and dents that the kraken had left on the hull, and the doctor was holed up in his new room, claimed after Bastion informed the group that Magdha had opted to take her leave and wouldn't be returning. Other than that, there wasn't anyone else around. Deciding that now was as good a time as any, Lucca meandered over to the door that seperated the doctor's room from the hall. Giving the door a brief rap with his knuckles, he waited quietly for a response. There was a moment of silence, prompting Lucca to try again, slightly more loudly the second time. "Oh, it's open," the doctor's voice replied from inside. The druid pulled the door open, revealing the small room. It was little more than a cot, a desk and some cupboards, though there appeared to be a sink and a mirror in the corner. Dr. Cohen was sitting at the desk, his back to the door, making notes in a book from some papers beside him; everything was immaculately ordered, even to a layperson. He continued writing as he explained, "Sorry, I didn't realize someone was knocking. People don't usually care about my opinion on whether or not they can come in. Give me a moment, I need to finish this conversion..." he trailed off, his pen still moving, the tip alternating between writing and tapping rhymically in place. When he finished something to his satisfaction, he put the pen down and turned around, his expression expectant. The druid waited patiently until the other man finished before asking, "I wanted to ask you about something, if you're not too busy?" "Nothing time-sensitive. What do you need?" He considered his words for a moment before answering bluntly, "Back a few years ago, when we came to arrest you in the Underdark, you knocked us out with something, and we all woke up elsewhere. What the hell went on while we were out?" Cohen raised an eyebrow. "Nothing," he said, just as bluntly. When Lucca didn't seem satisfied, he added "...Or would you like a detailed description of all the nothing that happened?" "Maybe something in between?" He pursed his lips, "I seem to recall some sort of explanation being given at the time...but that was years ago, and I frankly don't really remember it. But after the calibre of freaking out that went on when we started this...mission, I guess...I'd kinda like to hear it again." The doctor snorted, then sat back, rubbing his forehead, thinking. "You were coming to kill me, or arrest me," he explained, "That was the assumption, because you came invisibly, weren't panicking, and weren't leaving, meaning that you had come on purpose, and had both an escape and a reason to be there. Maybe you were there to loot, maybe you had come for Anna; it wasn't really relevant, because if you had enough information to get there to begin with, it wouldn't take you long to figure out who I was. I certainly had a reward attached to me, and at the very least you'd end up reporting the location. It was made very obvious that the creatures in the facility weren't going to deter you, so I had to do something quickly. I should have killed you. I really, honestly, should have killed you. But I didn't, and we all saw how well that worked out for me." He sighed, "I wanted to confirm that you were all human, so I had the construct take samples. One of you was a zombie, so I knew that the vapourized anesthetic I had, originally a defense against the creatures, wouldn't work, so I made sure to send extra constructs that could destroy him. He proved to be significantly more powerful, and magical, then I had anticipated, but he was driven off, and as a bird there really wasn't anything the robots could do, so I opted to ignore the problem and hoped that the creatures would finish him. Anna's constructs brought you to the area I had secured from the creatures, but it wouldn't be long before you woke up, since the gas wasn't designed to last very long. I didn't have time to properly calculate dosages of anesthetic; I didn't even know how to begin to calculate yours. So, I stripped you all of your belongings, placed you in the cold storage because I thought it might compensate for whatever your biology could overcome, placed the man in an adjacent room and put the woman in the main room. Apparently both you and he had significantly higher respective metabolisms than I had anticipated, and the woman was much better at getting out of bonds. In my defense, I've never bound anybody before, so that is apparently not one of my skills. You all escaped, befriended Anna, used me to rebuild your escape and then assaulted me. I woke up in jail some time later. So," his face had its sarcastic slant to it as he said, "to summarize my knowledge of the event: you arrived, killed some mutations, were unconscious for about an hour, reconvened, conspired, and knocked me out when I finished your task." "Yeah, I dunno man. For a guy that was supposed to be all crazy smart and murderous, you sure made some weird calls. No offense. I did appreciate the not being murdered and all, though." He paused, then tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing a touch as he continued, "What went on with the other two, after you separated us? Caitlyn, in particular; I recall you seeming more interested in her being human while we were there, and then she had this crazy freakout the second she saw you again..." he trailed off, leveling a pointed stare at the other man. At Lucca's first comment, Cohen rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, but didn't respond. When the druid finished, the doctor blinked flatly at the young man a few times before replying, "First off, if you're implying I did anything sexual, to either of them, no. I did not. I am a professional, and the idea of molesting an unconscious person is reprehensible." He made a sarcastic expression, "Almost as enjoyable as being propositioned while blind. Because that would make everything so much the better." His expression became more serious as he continued, "I was interested in her humanity because, besides being able to better guess her dose of anesthetic, my research was entirely on humans. I had about..." he paused to count, "twelve half-elf applicants in total, who I rejected because I didn't want to deal with the subtle intricacies of their genetics while I was still in the testing phase. The woman was the only one who I could really safely work with. And before you go on about 'consent' this and that," he rolled his eyes again, "I wasn't particularly caring because let's be frank, you were prisoners and should have been killed anyways. If you were alive, I could at least run one trial, maybe two if I worked out the elven variables, and then at least pretend I was making progress again." He exhaled heavily, "As to what happened to her, she was bound to a table, naked but covered, with an IV inserted. A small needle, hooked to a saline solution; it would have kept her hydrated, nothing more. She woke up, and proceded to be steadfastly disagreeable. I took her measurements, chastely, I'll add for emphasis, before that's implied further, and left the room because she obviously was having no sort of discussion. When I came back, she had slipped the bonds and attacked me before running away. So, if you would like a moral, it would be 'always use a paralytic'," he concluded, his tone sardonic once more. He added, "As for the other, I put him in the other room and didn't see him again until later, much like yourself." "I'm not really trying to imply anything...just trying to understand." He fell to thoughtful silence for a few moments before nodding to himself and adding, "Thanks, for being..." he guestured vaguely, searching for the word, "...not a dick about answering." This elicited another raised eyebrow. "...You must have a terrible record of getting information from people, if my preternaturally sunny disposition warrants thanks." "Mmm, you could say something like that." he replied with an odd quirk of the lips, continuing as he turned to go, "Anyway, I'll leave you to your stuff. Later." Cohen made a 'hmm' noise and made a small waving gesture as he turned back towards his work. Exiting the room, Lucca closed the door behind him and made his way to the empty bunk room. He flopped onto his bed, closed his eyes and fell to silently mulling over the conversation. Category:Advent of the All